Culture and Groups

Question 1

What are the two approaches to defining social groups?

Answer 1

Social cohesion
- individuals who share the same characteristics
Social identification
- individuals who have internalised the same social identity eg. gender

Question 2

What are the four qualifying characteristics of a cultural group?

Answer 2

• Behavioural regularities that reflect structure of group
• Members occupy roles and statuses
• Shared norms of appropriate conduct
• Interaction with each other

Question 3

Why do we need social groups? (5)

Answer 3

• Need to belong, need for affection
• Provide a reference point
• Satisfy self esteem needs
• Achieve goals difficult to achieve alone
• Ensures safety and survival

Question 4

What is the social identity approach?

Answer 4

• Tajfel and Turner, 1979

- people define themselves in terms of the groups they belong to

Question 5

What does social identity theory assume?

Answer 5

• Social groups are an important source of belonging and pride
• members of an in group will seek to find negative aspects of an out group

Question 6

What is self categorisation theory? (3)

Answer 6

• Turner, Hogg et al 1987
• Self concept is highly fluid
• Identities can be more or less salient depending on context

Question 7

What is the relationship between personal and social identity?

Answer 7

• Personal identity salient in interpersonal encounters

- Social identity salient in intergroup encounters

Question 8

What did Triandis findings in 1988 tell us about in/out groups in different cultures?

Answer 8

In individualistic cultures, individuals

• Belong to multiple ingroups, and move easily between ingroups
• More likely to treat outgroup persons more equally, with less distinction between ingroups and outgroups (lol)

In collectivistic cultures, individuals

• Belong to fewer ingroups, but have greater commitments to these groups
• Greater lack of concern for outgroups, greater distancing and discrimination of outgroups

Question 9

What is stereotyping and how does it occur?

Answer 9

• generalised images we have about groups
• Selective attention: we don’t take in all the information
• Cognitive efficiency: easier and more efficient to categorise information and people
• Auto stereotypes: views we have about ingroup
• Hetero-stereotypes – views about outgroups